2016 NL Delamination

d3500ram wrote:

Wardster wrote:

Photomike wrote:
I am curious, did you try lifting the camper with the jacks? If so did the bulge go away?

Yes, the bulge is almost unnoticeable when the TC is on the jacks, which should help with the repair.

Whether the bulge goes away irrespective of on or off the truck is unacceptable IMHO. For a new, less-than-one-year old camper a repair should not be necessary for this. It might be indicative of a much more serious nature. Did it do this when you took delivery or is it recent?

I agree that it should not do it and it should be fixed.

All I wanted to know with my question is if it was a weakness (as would be indicated with the bulge that would go away when put on the jacks) or if it was permanently like that(no change when jacked up) so could be from the forming process of the fiberglass, something pushing against the fiberglass from behind, etc.

If it goes away when jacked up then I would say something has given way.

Hope it is fixed quickly for you!

Wardster wrote:
I purchased my 2016 NL QCSE in April 2015 and recently noticed a bulge forming on the starboard side wing just below the cab over - see below.



Since this rig is less than a year old even by it's build date, I am surprised to see this. I sent this same photo to Keith at NL this morning to see how he wants to handle it, but I haven't heard back from him yet. Stay tuned to see how this plays out.

WOW! That picture looks exactly like my camper did... well, except mine was old and bug splattered. I'm surprised to see it happen on a new one.
My repair thread...shows the wall construction
Good luck with the repair!

Wonder if this has anything to do with the new molds and design implemented after the plant fire?

Not sure how they are going to fix option 3 without removing a lot of stuff from the camper to properly get at the bad area which needs more adhesion. Also, it will be hard to properly get in there to reapply the adhesion and acquire a long term repair.

Good luck on a quick and long lasting repair.

Sorry to see the trouble w/new camper. On a positive note; fiberglass is easy to repair. As Rhodetrip can verify we live in the boat building capital of the US...a good glass Guy could repair this no problem...and you would never be able to tell. Probably better than new! I feel pretty strongly NL will be able to get this repaired for you just fine. Good luck.

Bill

I ask our members not jump to conclusions. It is not fair to anyone involved. If you are an arm chair Engineer, please be respectful enough to state as much.

If you think about it, NL and the TC owner have a lot at stake. So does the dealer to a large degree. Stuff happens, and the manufacture has their reputation and product quality to keep intact. Due to the fact manufactures are not allowed to post on RV.NET, it is okay with me if Keith wishes to PM me. Sometimes members make post that would be best responded to by the manufacture.

I think it is important to note that we seldom have structural complaints on the NL or Bigfoot TCs. My point is to keep it in perspective.

Wayne
Moderator

Damage is the same corner as what occurred on my 2004 10.2 CD. Fixed this with several layers of long stranded fiberglass. Suspect Alaska's roads had something to do with this.

GaryT, do you have any details/photos?

Wayne

Update

Since the bulge was almost unnoticeable when it was on its jacks, Keith wants to initially try to reactivate the glue by heating the area up in the dealer's shop. He said that process takes about 24 hours to complete, so results will be determined rather quickly. If that doesn't work, then they will remove the cab window and inject Sikaflex 252 into the void in an effort to resolve the delamination issue. The dealer is going to let me know tomorrow if he can get me in next week, so either way this should be a quick repair.

Wardster, I think it important to tell you that my 2003 NL has been on lots of country gravel back roads and my tie downs have been tightened to where the spring load is up the 1/8th of an inch on the torklift springs in front and have not seen this problem. My camper has done fine in that the wings have not stressed. I have seen your problem only once before on a new BF camper.I don't know what they did to repair it under warranty.

My bulge, as discussed in the other post, never showed for years until I got to using it almost fulltime. Lots of condensation. I think the glued failed on mine but won't know till I get to do the repairs.

Glad they have a plan to fix it Wardster and thanks for the update.